Clipper Pilsner Beer

George Jacob Renner Jr. purchased the Youngstown, Ohio brewery in 1885 for $4800.  The property had been sitting idle for two years before Renner breathed life back into it.

However, four years after opening, an exploding boiler and ensuing fire closed the brewery again.  Valued at $75,000 with an insurance policy that covered only $18,000,  Renner was forced to take out bank and business loans to rebuild the brewery from the ground up.

By the fall of 1890, it was open for business and continued brewing operations until 1962.  Clipper beer was one of several labels produced by Renner Brewing Company in the post prohibition years.

The artwork featured on this month’s shirt is from the Clipper cone top (circa 1940) which was one of the first brands to use steel cans as packaging.  For collectors, this can is highly sought after due to its airplane graphic of the “PanAm Clipper”, a flying boat which took off from and landed on water.

It is believed that fewer than ten pristine cans are in existence today, so even off-grade cans retain strong value.